


She Walks in Beauty

by rumpelsnorcack



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-22 13:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6081465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumpelsnorcack/pseuds/rumpelsnorcack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short (some very short) ficlets for Lovely Little Femslash (under one heading because I could literally only think of one title).  Contains a variety of pairings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Secret Dating - Freddie/Meg

**Author's Note:**

> Rated teen for the language in some fics.  
> Many many thanks to [strangetowns](http://archiveofourown.org/users/strangetowns/pseuds/strangetowns) for checking these over for me. She made many helpful suggestions, which I have tried to incorporate, but some I haven't had time to do what with the piles of work I have had to do. Therefore, any not-so-great bits are all my doing, and she probably tried to talk me out of them.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie's thoughts during PUNISHMENT, but the secret she's hiding isn't Kit.

Ben was sitting deathly still, and it was scaring the hell out of Freddie.  Usually he flailed, ranted, raved and was generally louder and larger than life.  Even when he was angry he was never cold.  This still, silently furious Ben was terrifying.  Cold and terrifying.  What if … what if he’d found out?  Freddie knew Ben had realised a rule had been broken.  That was pretty much the only thing he’d actually said.

“Ben, could we just get…?” Freddie started to ask, her voice shaking. _Just get this over with_ , she’d intended to say, but Ben had stopped her with a firm hand gesture.

Ben remained impassive.  “Wait,” he said, his voice even colder than she’d imagined it could be.

Freddie sighed and started pacing.  Clearly he knew.  He was just waiting for the others to get back before he thrust all her misdemeanours on her and handed down some horrible punishment.  She couldn’t bring herself to care, though.  At least not much.  Whatever punishment Ben and the others thought up would definitely be worth it.  As messy and unpleasant as this was likely to be, Freddie was almost relieved that it could be out in the open.  She wanted to shout her love for everyone to hear.  She wanted people to know about the most beautiful person in her life.

While she paced anxiously, Freddie thought back on _why_ she was in this mess.  Meg.  Meg, with her bright eyes and vivid personality.  Meg, with her strength and her courage.  Beautiful Meg, who Freddie kind of adored so much that it actually scared her. 

Their first meeting had been awkward, with the two of them standing in the doorway of the flat while raucous reunions went on around them.  But even then Freddie felt drawn to her.  Of course she’d seen the videos, seen Meg with that Robbie person.  Seen Meg betrayed by her boyfriend, and her friends too.  Seen Meg overcome all that and bounce back, stronger and happier than ever.  Or so it seemed from what she’d seen anyway.  None of that, however, compared to the magnetism Meg exuded when Freddie met her in person.  Not even the first video Meg had made on Peter’s (Ben’s?) channel.  That first video, where Meg was so captivating that Freddie literally couldn’t look away. 

At that first meeting in the flat’s doorway, Meg had been scrupulously polite, but there was something in the way she carried herself that drew Freddie in.  Meg just had confidence, bucket loads of it.  It seemed like something Meg wore with ease, making her seem at peace with herself and the world around her.  Whereas Freddie felt like _she_ was a ball of anxious nerves all the time, never really sure where she fit in the world or what she could do to bend it to her needs.  Meg’s confidence was one of the things Freddie loved the most about her – it was so alien, and yet so very attractive.

Freddie smiled a little as she thought back.  They said opposites attracted, and that seemed to be the case for the two of them.  Meg balanced out Freddie’s nervous tics.  She laughed and teased her when she wanted to get coffee at a particular time every day, but in the end she always gave in and let it happen.  Freddie, on the other hand, stabilised some of Meg’s more outrageous ideas.  When Meg wanted to scale metaphorical mountains with a small metaphorical ice pick, Freddie reminded her of the practical necessities and got her to at least use proper climbing equipment.  Metaphorically speaking.  They just … they just worked.

Freddie had been worried at the start about the whole business.  She’d wanted to be careful, stay in control.  She’d wanted to stick to the rules, her precious rules that made life so much easier and happier for the flat.  Her rules, which gave her some measure of control over what her infuriatingly uncontrollable flatmates got up to.  The problem was, of course, that love isn’t predictable or easy.  Love doesn’t stick to rules or plans or schedules.  Love, the bastard, comes knocking for you when it’s most inconvenient, when you have the most to lose. 

And so, here she was.  With Ben, silent Ben.  And her heart was thumping wildly at the knowledge that she was about to be exposed, made raw.  Soon, the whole flat would know that she, Freddie Lauren Kingston, was dating Meg Winter.  Soon, she would no longer be able to hide behind the rules.  And even though that would be a relief, Freddie wasn’t sure she was ready for the accusations she knew Ben would throw out. 

He was so angry.  Meg was worth every second of the pain to come, yes absolutely.  But that didn’t make the thought of this any easier to bear.  That didn’t make being in this room with this Ben, so unlike his usual self, any less stressful.  So Freddie waited, anxious, for Peter and Stan to come home.  So they could get this over with.  So she could finally, finally, tell the world about her love.  Whatever punishment they came up with, it couldn’t possibly be worse than this eternal moment of waiting.  It couldn’t possibly be worse than what Ben was putting her through right now.


	2. Meg/Ursula – Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when only one of two best friends gets a letter to Hogwarts.

1.

“That’s so sweet,” Meg gasped.  “How do you even do that?”

She was staring with rapt delight at the snow globe in Ursula’s hands.  It was morphing slowly from colour to colour (red to yellow, yellow to blue, blue to green …) while the tiny figures inside danced to tinny music Ursula and Meg could barely hear.

“I don’t know,” said Ursula, holding her breath as she too stared at the globe.  It was supposed to be a normal snow globe: shake it and white snow would fall on stationary figures.  But Ursula had willed it to change because she knew it would captivate Meg, and suddenly the small globe had come alive.

Meg looked up at her with shining eyes.  “This is glorious, Urs.  You’re amazing.”

A small kiss on the cheek, a swirl of jet black hair, and she was gone.  Ursula sighed as she watched Meg depart.  She was as unpredictable as the wind, and it often frustrated Ursula as much as it drew her in.

2.

“Meg!  Meg.  Oh, Meg!  The most amazing thing!”

Ursula ran up to Meg, her heart thumping with wild excitement.  In her hand, she clutched a letter written on some sort of heavy yellow paper.

“What?” Meg managed to gasp out.  “Did you actually get a scholarship to that awesome film school for gifted kids?”

Ursula grinned at the idea.  “No,” she said.  “This is even better than that.”

“Ursula!  Did you just say something was better than film school?”

Meg gave her forehead a quick pat to make sure she was feeling okay.  Ursula shrugged her hand off with a grin, but her skin was tingling where Meg’s hand had been resting, and she almost lost her train of thought.

“Just look,” Ursula said eventually, beaming as she thrust the paper towards Meg.

Meg scanned it quickly. “’Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’?”  Meg read aloud, frowning as she looked up at Ursula.  “What is this?  What does it mean?”

“It means I’m magic,” Ursula said with a proud grin.  “All that stuff before – it’s because I was doing magic.  I get to learn magic at school, isn’t that cool?”

“Oh, Ursula!  That’s amazing.  I always knew you were amazing, but I didn’t realise _how_ amazing.”

Ursula smiled at her friend before noticing the small, sad tilt to her mouth.

“What’s … what’s the matter, Meg?”

“It’s nothing.  Just forget it – this is your moment of amazingness, so let’s focus on that.”

“No, Meg.  I want to know.”

“Um.”  Meg bit her lip and looked over at Ursula.  “I mean, look, I know we joked about film school for you and me going to a school to make people famous.  But I just … I always pictured the two of us together at Messina.  Terrorising the teachers with your wit and my charm.”  She lowered her lashes.  “I never imagined us at different schools in different countries, and I’m not sure what I’ll do without my BFF.”

Ursula leaned over to hug Meg with a lump in her throat.  She’d been so caught up in the joy of discovery (and relief that she wasn’t weird, after all), that she hadn’t thought about what it meant for her and Meg.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered into Meg’s hair.  “We’ll always be best buddies.  Nothing can change that.”

She gave Meg an extra tight squeeze before letting go, allowing herself one moment to enjoy the sensation of a few locks of Meg’s hair tickling her bare shoulder as they parted.

3.

The first few weeks and months at Hogwarts were overwhelming.  There was so much new stuff to learn and to do that Ursula was exhausted every time she dropped into a chair in the common room near the kitchen.

She lived for the days when an owl would deliver a letter from Meg.  They were always filled with glitter (“to liven up that dungeon you call home”) and I-love-yous (“because you’re special and you should hear that always”), and every single one made Ursula long for home and for her best friend.  While Hogwarts was great, Ursula missed Meg with a near-constant ache.  It was only now that they were apart that Ursula realised just how much she had relied on Meg’s vibrant presence to give colour to her life.

Meg’s vivacious smile and infectious laugh played through Ursula’s dreams every night, and the phantom feel of Meg’s arms around her neck sometimes brought tears to Ursula’s eyes when she woke to find Meg was still so many thousands of miles away.  It never got any easier, the ache of missing Meg.

Ursula loved learning all about magic, of course she did.  She was learning how to control the things she had done so instinctually when she was younger.  She loved finding out about potions and transfiguration, about defending yourself against the dark arts and charming objects to fly.  Even History of Magic had its appeal to the historian in Ursula.  There was a wild joy to her studies which captivated Ursula.  But threading through it all was the sense that something was missing.  Without Meg, some of the spark had left Ursula’s life, and she began to count down the days until she could go home for a holiday and see her best friend again.

4.

Ursula’s return home wasn’t the joyful reunion she’d imagined.  Meg was busy, preoccupied with a new boyfriend.  While she was genuinely pleased to see Ursula, it wasn’t the same.  The casual touches were gone, and along with them went much of the intimacy Ursula had remembered so fondly all year.  The hugs were cursory, and the significant looks were all directed at Mark now, rather than Ursula.

“Meg?”

“Hmmmm?”  Meg turned to look at Ursula, but it was obvious that half her mind (at least half) was on Mark, who was sitting with some friends at a table nearby.

“Do you ever wonder what it might have been like if I came to Messina?”

“We would totally have ruined this place for everyone else with our brilliance.”  Meg laughed, but her eyes still sought out Mark and her smile went soft when he looked over at her.

“Yeah.  Yeah we would have,” Ursula said sadly as Meg jumped down off her perch and gave Ursula a perfunctory wave as she made her way over to Mark and greeted him with a passionate kiss.

Watching the scenes unfold with a heavy heart, Ursula decided that she had to put Meg behind her and focus on her new friends and her new life at Hogwarts.  It was clear she didn’t really fit into the muggle world anymore, at least not the one she wanted anyway.  As much as it pained her, she was going to have to move on.

5.

Her years at Hogwarts had been pretty brilliant, Ursula thought.  She had made some genuinely wonderful friends, managed to go out with possibly the best looking girl in the entire school (so said the awed boys who had tried to date her unsuccessfully), and she had really enjoyed every minute of her last six years at the school.  When she occasionally thought of her old life, and her first love, Ursula would just smile to herself and treasure the fond memories.  They no longer pained her, and she found herself wishing Meg well with whatever she had done during the time they’d been apart.  While things felt like they’d been left in limbo (she hadn’t seen Meg again after that first holiday, and the letters dried up soon after too), Ursula was content enough to think on those days with very little sadness.

Ursula had worked hard – hard enough to graduate with enough OWLs and NEWTs to do basically any job she wanted.  What she wanted, Ursula had realised, was to go into wizard/muggle relations.  Both worlds were important to her, and she desperately wanted to ensure they both worked together in harmony.  The one thing that had pained her during her time at the school was that there was still so much distrust of muggles within the wizarding world.  She desperately wanted to do something that would bring the two parts of her universe together.  It felt like her calling in life, if you could put your faith in anything as ridiculous as a calling, was to mediate between the two groups.  So after leaving Hogwarts for the final time, she stopped in at the offices of the Ministry of Magic to pick up application forms before she tapped the bricks that would take her from the wizarding world to the muggle world and the start of her new post-school life.

6.

It was during her first time in the role of muggle relations ambassador to New Zealand that Ursula ran into Meg again.

“Ursula?  Urs?  Is that actually you?”

The stunning young woman with her jet black hair pounced on Ursula and hugged her close.

“Meg?”  Ursula queried with a smile.

“The one and only!”  Meg stood back, holding Ursula at arm’s length to take in her whole appearance.  “It’s been far too long!”

“You know that would have been embarrassing, right?  If I’d been someone else?”

“Nah, babe.  You just roll with it.  Great way to meet new people, break the ice.”  She laughed.  “Anyway, what brings you to my humble abode … well, workplace?”

“Oh, I’m here from … from …” Ursula hadn’t been prepared to deal with someone she knew, and her carefully rehearsed message had completely left her head.  “I, um, I need to see your manager.  Urgent message from my manager.”

“My manager?  You mean, the Prime Minister’s personal secretary?”

“Um … yes.”

Meg laughed again, the sound sending waves of nostalgia through Ursula.  She realised she hadn’t pushed aside all those old feelings as well as she’d thought.

“Well, I’m afraid she’s not in right now.”  She leaned forward conspiratorially.  “Super secret meeting.  Something to do with magic.”  Meg winked at Ursula.

Ursula blushed, hoping Meg would think it was because of her casual mention of magic and not because she was finding Meg incredibly attractive again.  “Oh.  Well, I thought I had an appointment.  But I guess not.”

“Don’t worry about it, babes.  It’s my break now so we can go grab some grub and catch up.  It’ll be like old times.”

Still feeling the pull of nostalgia, Ursula agreed.  Several hours later (“Don’t you need to get back?” “Nah, my boss is pretty relaxed”), they were laughing as if they’d never parted.  Meg had told Ursula all about her terrible exes, and they were both collapsed on the table in hysterics over some of the things they’d said as she’d dumped them.

Without thinking, Ursula reached across the table and took Meg’s hand.  They both stared at it for a long moment before Ursula awkwardly tried to pull it away.  In response, Meg grabbed it and held it tightly.

“What?  Um, what are you doing?”

“I … I’ve missed you, Urs.  I was wondering if maybe…”  Meg swallowed.  “Do you want to carry this on somewhere else?  Like, maybe over dinner?”

Ursula smiled as she looked into those bright eyes, wide with a silent plea, and said, “I’d love to go to dinner with you, Meg.  I’ve missed you, too.  It’s … it’s been too long.”

“Yeah it really has,” Meg said as she squeezed Ursula’s hand. 

As they stepped out of the bar and made their way to a restaurant, hands still entwined, Ursula found herself wondering what she was doing, what she would do if Meg pulled away again.  But she realised it didn’t matter.  Whatever Meg thought, however she felt, just being together again after so long was enough.  Having her best friend back was more than enough.


	3. Hero/Ursula - Childhood Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hero's thoughts in a quiet moment with Ursula

Ursula’s head was heavy on her shoulder, but Hero couldn’t bring herself to wake her up.  Ursula’s lips were slightly open and her breath whistled through them in a not-quite-a-snore that Hero found adorable. She sighed and shifted slightly to get more comfortable, being careful not to jiggle Ursula as she did so.  They had been watching cartoons on Hero’s laptop when Ursula had drifted off.  The computer had long since sputtered into silence, but Hero didn’t move even to shut the lid on it. The idea of disturbing Ursula made that impossible. 

It was nice, Hero realised, to be here again with her best friend.  It had been too long.  There had been so many times over the last few years when they had done this – one or the other of them falling asleep on the other’s shoulder.  In the past it had been natural, just something two girls might do together with no secret hidden behind it.  But things had changed in the last year or so.  Now when they sat together there was a new awareness between them – a hint of something coming to them, even if it hadn’t yet arrived.  They didn’t lean on each other quite as casually anymore, and they were careful to keep a distance of several inches between them.  There was always an energy sparking when their fingers accidentally brushed, an energy which scared Hero almost as much as it invigorated her.

The glances between the two of them were also becoming less friendly and more … something else.  Hero had always liked this part of relationships.  The part where there was a growing awareness and yet nothing had been said yet.  And yet, this time it was painful – as painful as it was filled with the usual pleasure.  This time she wasn’t certain Ursula felt the same way.  They were dancing around each other so delicately that Hero wasn’t sure if anything would ever come of it.  It was going to take one of them being brave, and not just in a moment of obliviousness like this one.  It was going to take someone saying something, not staying silent as they stared at each other in confused longing.  Or what she thought might be confused longing.

Ursula shifted slightly and snuffled into Hero’s hair as she inched closer.  Hero’s breath caught in her throat as the movement allowed the scent of Ursula’s perfume to drift towards her.    

“Mmmm, your hair smells nice,” Ursula muttered, her voice clogged with sleep as her hand grazed the top of Hero’s thigh.

Hero smiled.  She pressed a kiss to the top of Ursula’s head, and tried to persuade herself that, come morning, she could go back to being best friends with Ursula.  But the longer this dance between them continued, the more she felt like it was all a pretence.  Ursula’s lips curved into a smile, and Hero made her mind up.  Tomorrow she would be the brave one.  Tomorrow she would ask the question.


	4. Paige/Chelsey - Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chelsey and Paige have a moment to themselves at Balthazar's party.

“Babe!  Come dance!” 

Chelsey was grinning as she grabbed Paige’s arm and pulled her back into the middle of the lounge.  There were very few other people dancing, but Chelsey didn’t care.  She had given the camera to Bea, and planned to enjoy some time with her girlfriend for a little while her hands were free.

“Hey!  I was talking!” Paige protested as Chelsey wrapped her arms around her neck.  But she let her head fall onto Chelsey’s shoulder and put her own arms around her girlfriend’s waist.

“You looked all serious and intense,” Chelsey murmured against her hair.  “I couldn’t have that at a birthday party.”

“Well, you _know_ debating the merits of the various Star Wars movies is serious business.  Balthy is just plain wrong.  I had to educate him before the new one comes out.”

Chelsey laughed again as she leaned back a little to look at Paige.  Her hair was shining in the glow created by the fairy lights, and her flower crown had been knocked askew by their hug.  Chelsey felt her heart expanding as she looked into Paige’s eyes.  On impulse, she gave Paige a quick peck on her lips, making her face light up in a glorious smile.  Chelsey couldn’t help but grin back.

“What was that for?”

“Because you are the most adorable human I know.  Almost as adorable as a cat.” 

She pressed another kiss to Paige’s lips.

Paige’s startled laugh rang out.  “That’s very high praise!”

“The highest.”

Chelsey snuggled back into Paige’s shoulder, hugging her closer.  They swayed together in silence for a few moments, and Chelsey thought how lucky she was to have someone like Paige as her girlfriend.  She was grounded and lovely, complementing Chelsey’s more bubbly personality.  They’d hit it off the moment they met at their first LGBTQA meeting, and Chelsey had never looked back, falling head over heels almost immediately.  She thanked her lucky stars every day that Paige felt the same way.  Chelsey had been newly arrived from Dargaville, and ready to party in the bigger city when they started talking and she was immediately drawn to Paige who’d offered to show her the sights of Wellington. 

The music changed from the slower paced love song to a much bouncier one with a heavy beat.

“Oh!” Chelsey squealed.  “This song is amazing.  We have to dance.”

“We are dancing,” Paige pointed out, a fond smile on her face.

“No, silly.  Proper dancing.  With jumping.”

Letting her hands slip from Paige’s shoulders, but holding tight to her hands, Chelsey demonstrated.  She was so energetic that they soon garnered an interested audience.  Others were quickly pulled into the fray and soon the whole lounge floor was packed once again.  Jaquie was doing something delightfully weird nearby and Costa was enthusiastically trying to follow along.  But Chelsey wasn’t interested in any of them, rather she delighted in watching Paige as she danced.  She grabbed her hand again and pulled her in to a twirl.

“You’re so beautiful,” Chelsey whispered in her ear before letting her spin away again.  The answering grin on Paige’s face was everything she needed, and wanted, to see.

“Well, _you_ are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen,” Paige said when she spun back.  Her eyes were intense and bright, making Chelsey smile even more.  She kept her eyes on Paige for the rest of the dance.

“This is the best birthday party I’ve ever been to,” she said when the song was over and she could breathe again.  They had moved to the side of the room, taking a quiet moment together to recover from the energetic song. 

Paige laughed and ran her hand down Chelsey’s cheek.  “It has been pretty good,” she said, kissing her nose.  Chelsey gaze drifted across the room to where Peter was huddled against the wall looking morose as he glared around at the other partygoers.  That wasn’t okay – people were supposed to be having the best birthday party ever. 

“Babe, you should go do your sunshine and awesomeness thing, and spread joy and cheer.”  She nodded in the direction of their friend.  “I’ll go find my camera again and start doing some selfies with Chelsey.  My greatest idea ever!”

Paige laughed.  “You just want an excuse to have that camera again.  You’re obsessed.”

“I am a true artiste with that camera and you know it.”  Chelsey gasped, her eyes wide as she thought of something.  “You have to get a selfie with Chelsey, right?”

“Chels, I get selfies with you practically every day.”

“I know, but you didn’t get a best-birthday-ever moving selfie, did you?  Please.  You promise?”

Paige laughed again and nodded.  Chelsey pressed another kiss onto her lips before twirling away towards Ben and Bea.  She watched as Paige made her way towards Peter, and grinned as he smiled at her approach.  Her girlfriend was so amazing, she thought fondly.  Just her mere presence was enough to lighten pretty much any situation.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chelsey caught sight of Rosa and Kel dancing.  Rosa looked terrified as he leaped and jumped around her, her eyes anxious and a grimace on her face. 

“Oh my god, I’ve gotta capture this!” Chelsey squealed with a gasp as she reached Bea, and grabbed the camera back.


	5. Hero/Meg – Firsts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hero and Meg bond over their shared experiences with boys who treat them badly.

Hero was dealing with things.  She was fine.  At least that was what she told Bea every time she approached her with concern on her face and anger on her lips.  And it was sort of true.  Hero wasn’t exactly pining away in her bedroom, desperately moping over her lost love and clutching the shreds of her reputation to her breast as she cried, “Why?  Why?” over and over again.  That’s what Bea’s looks always suggested, and Hero cringed whenever she brought up the events of her birthday because she didn’t want to deal with Bea’s worries on top of her own pains.

On the other hand, Hero wasn’t her happiest, normal self either.  She felt a cold pit of pain nestled in her stomach that nothing could dislodge.  Well, nothing but the presence of one person.  The one person who was hurting almost as much as Hero was.  The one person who all their friends had apparently forgotten in their concern over Hero. 

Hero recalled the first time she’d noticed that Meg had been affected by what had happened too.

“Hey.”  She’d said it in a morose tone when Meg approached, unwilling to burden someone else with her issues, but also unable to be her normal cheerful self.

“Hey yourself, babes.  How are you?”

“I’m not really sure anymore.  Every time someone asks the question I wonder again how I actually am.”

“Yeah,” Meg sighed.  “I know the feeling.”  She glanced over at Hero and smiled at what she must see on her face: astonishment, worry, guilt.  “It sounds stupid, right?  I mean, you’re the one they trashed.”

“Oh, Meg.  I didn’t even think …”

“No, no.  Don’t worry about it.  Robbie was an arse and I’m better off without him.” 

She nodded with what was apparently conviction, but it looked more like she was trying to force herself to believe it than that she actually did.  Hero leaned forward to pull her into a hug.

“Boys can be total bastards, right?”  She said, with a small smile.

“Hero Duke, did you just say something mean about someone?”  Meg asked as she pulled away a little to look her in the face.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I did.”

They both laughed, and the darkness surrounding them seemed just a little less horrible.  Hero squeezed Meg’s shoulder before dropping her arm.

“If you ever need to talk, I’m here okay?”

“You don’t need to look after me, Hero.  You have your own stuff.”

“Yeah.  But you know what?  It’s actually nice to have someone to talk to who’s part of it, you know?  I don’t feel like I have to walk on eggshells with you to stop you worrying about me.”  She indicated the space between them.  “You.  You’re here, in it.  With me.  It’s … nice.”

“That’s one thing you can count on with me.  I’ll always be in it with you.”

The two of them had met regularly after that.  They shared stories of how things were going.  They hugged and laughed and mourned together.  Meg was so blisteringly angry at Robbie, and at what he had done to her, that Hero felt okay with expressing her lower key anger at Claudio.  And unlike Bea, Meg also understood why Hero cried sometimes about the loss of her relationship.  Meg _got it_ in a way Bea just couldn’t.  She knew viscerally what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you loved, and how sometimes that love still lingered even after it should be gone.  She knew that even when everyone around you told you that your only course of action was to be completely, irrevocably, implacably, never-forgive-you-ever furious at that person you’d once loved, that sometimes you felt a sad fondness for the person you thought he’d been.

So, Hero was fine.  Mostly.  She was getting by with the help of Meg. And Meg was getting by with the help of Hero.  It had felt almost inevitable, then, that they should take a deeper comfort in each other. 

The first time Hero had kissed Meg had been a couple of weeks after that first conversation. 

“Men really do suck,” Meg had hissed. 

They’d just finished watching Ben’s newest video, sitting out on the grass in Hero’s garden.  The sight of Claudio (and Pedro, but if Hero was honest she didn’t really care what _he_ thought of her) still acting as if she’d been the one in the wrong had set her crying again.  Meg was furious for her.  That Ben had stuck up for her was nice, but the sight of the boy she’d once loved being so horrible about her was so upsetting that Hero had been reduced to a weeping mess.  She’d thought she was over the crying stage.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to never have to deal with love and romance ever again,” Hero sighed wistfully, when she’d dried her eyes and was able to sit up and give Meg a watery smile.  “It would be _so_ nice to never feel like this again.”

“Oh, babe, no.  Love is … love is glorious.  It’s just the partners we chose who suck.”

Hero smiled again, reluctantly.  “I guess so.  I just don’t see how I can trust anyone again.  You saw them.  They think girls can’t be trusted, but …”

“Nah.  It’s the boys who can’t be trusted.  I think I’m going to stick to girls for a bit.”

“You’re going to …?”

“Stick with girls, yeah.  Girls are just as glorious as love is.  I deserve girls.”

“You definitely deserve glory, Meg.”

Meg shuffled over on the grass, and squinted up at Hero.

“You don’t seem shocked that I like girls.”

“I’m not.  Why would I be?  I have two mums, why would you liking girls be a problem?  Besides, I’ve seen the way you look …”

Hero blushed and found she couldn’t quite meet Meg’s eyes.  She’d almost given herself away.

“You’ve seen the way I look?  Oh!”  Suddenly Meg blushed, too, sitting up quickly from her position on the grass.  “Oh, you’ve seen the way I look at you.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Um, yeah I have.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable, Hero.  I didn’t want _you_ to be, though.  I thought I’d hidden it.”

In response, Hero leaned over and kissed her.  It was short, just one brief press of lips against lips.  Meg’s were cold from the slight frost in the air, but even so Hero thought it was one of the best kisses she’d ever had.  She was smiling as she pulled back to search Meg’s face.

“Mmmm.  What was that exactly?”

“I don’t … I’m not sure.  But boys suck, and you don’t.”

Meg seemed to understand what Hero was trying to say.  She reached her hand out to run it through Hero’s hair.  Hero closed her eyes in delight at the sensation.

“What happened to ‘never dealing with love and romance again’?”

“I think I deserve girls, too.  Or one girl, anyway.”

This time it was Meg who leaned in, smiling.

Yeah, Hero thought.  She was doing fine.  As fine as could be expected anyway.  And while that may have been the first time she’d kissed Meg, it certainly hadn’t been the last.  Hero knew it was very soon after the Claudio thing, but she also knew that with Meg she felt so much better than she did with anyone else.  And that was something that was worth pursuing, even if just for this moment. 

She deserved happiness; they both did.


	6. Jaquie/Freddie – Fake dating.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaquie fake dates someone for maybe a minute. Unfortunately it has much longer lasting repercussions.

“Oi!” Peter blurted, coming up and slinging a casual arm around Jaquie’s shoulder as he glared at the man chatting her up, who was being very free with his hands.  “Are you bothering my girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?”  The man stuttered, backing away quickly from the look in Peter’s eye.  “Sorry, I didn’t realise …”

“Yeah, well now you know,” Peter said with an easy grin at the man’s retreating back as he turned to look at Jaquie.  The look in his eyes suggested he wanted a cookie for being her big, strong helper.  Jaquie wasn’t in the mood to soothe his ego.

“What the fuck was that, Peter?”

“What?”

“Telling him I’m your girlfriend?  I can deal with creeps myself, thank you.”

“Sorry.”  Peter held his hands up in supplication.  “Just thought I could help out.”

“Well, don’t.  I’m a big girl; I can handle things.”

“Okay okay.”

He held his hands up and turned back to the bar and their customers, but not before he’d winked at her.  She laughed.  He was incorrigible, but always a laugh when she needed it.  Jaquie decided not to get too annoyed with him about it, but she would damn sure make him realise he couldn’t just butt into her life like that.

Jaquie sneaked a look over to area of the bar where she knew Freddie and Ben were sitting.  They were both staring at her with mouths agape.  She frowned at them, wondering why they looked like that.  As she watched, Ben turned to lean over the counter, then said something to Peter who just grinned and shook his head.  Freddie, by contrast, gave her a small sad smile.  It made Jaquie’s stomach do a flip and she grimaced and turned away. 

She couldn’t risk allowing Freddie to know how she felt about her.  Freddie had made it pretty clear that she wasn’t interested in any sort of romance and since that was the case, Jaquie wasn’t going to risk her being able to see what she really felt.  It had been bad enough that Jaquie had thought Freddie might be interested a few months ago, just before she’d put those stupid rules in place at her flat.  There was no way in hell Jaquie was about to let her, or anyone really, know that she’d mistaken Freddie’s friendly looks and casual touches as flirting.  That didn’t stop Jaquie’s heart from plummeting when she saw how unhappy Freddie was as she glanced between Jaquie and Peter.  The vibes she was giving still seemed flirty as hell, but they couldn’t be since Freddie was so adamant about the stupid rules.

 

During their next work shift, Peter arrived late looking harried and angry.

“What’s up, babe?  Your ridiculous rules get in the way of your amorous intentions again?” Jaquie reached out and patted Peter soothingly on the back, trying to make all her condescension obvious in the slow pat.  He batted her hand away in obvious irritation.

“Oh, you won’t be laughing when I tell you.”  He ran his hand through his hair until it stood on end.  “Ben has decided we’re dating.”

“Who’s dating?”

“You and me.  Me and you.  Us together.”

“What???”

“I told him we weren’t, but he just nodded and winked at me.”

Jaquie could feel the fury rising up inside her.  This was the most ridiculous thing any human had ever done to her.  And that was saying something, considering Freddie had instituted the stupid rules and ruined any thought Jaquie might have had of asking her out.

“Oh god,” Peter ground out.  “Here they come – and just look at his smug little face.”

Jaquie turned around to see Peter’s flatmates all entering the room.  Balthazar looked resigned, pulling at his jumper sleeves while trying not to look at Peter.  Ben looked delighted, filled with joy at their supposed coupledom, his face lit up in a huge grin.  Freddie … Freddie looked devastated, her eyes downcast and her body language closed in and unhappy.  She refused to catch Jaquie’s eye, even though Jaquie was trying, for once, to communicate with her.  Freddie’s smile was plastered on, though only someone who knew it as well as Jaquie did would realise it wasn’t natural.

“Hi Jaquie,” she muttered with a sideways glance as they all approached the bar.

“Hey Freddie.” Jaquie put on her best smile, trying to draw the other girl out.  Freddie just closed in on herself even more and cast an anxious look at Peter before giving Jaquie a half smile and turning away. 

When Jaquie had managed to drag her thoughts away from Freddie, and tuned into the conversation the others were having she scowled.  Ben was in fine form.

“So here’s the happy couple.  Don’t worry, Jaqs, I won’t say a word about this so long as you promise no shenanigans.”

“Fuck off, Ben.  We’re not together,” Jaquie spat out, still trying unsuccessfully to catch Freddie’s eye.  She reached out and touched Freddie’s wrist and Freddie glanced up at her with startled eyes and an expression in her eyes which made Jaquie’s heart beat faster.  She looked away quickly, but not before Jaquie caught the hint of a smile on her face.

“Oh, right.  Sure.  Yeah,” Ben said with a wide grin and an exaggerated wink.  Jaquie groaned in frustration.  She pulled her hand away from Freddie’s, not missing the sad frown that replaced the smile as they lost contact.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Oh, nothing.  Just wanted to see your beautiful face, Jaqs.”

“Well if you’re not drinking, you can fuck off somewhere else.”

“Sure sure.  We’ll leave you and your one true love alone, like you so obviously want.”

Jaquie growled.  “We’re not together,” she snarled.  “We have never been together, we will never be together.” 

She glared at Peter, who nodded enthusiastically.  “Yeah.  We’re not together.”

Ben laughed and nodded, assuming a wise expression that infuriated Jaquie.  She sneaked another look at Freddie, who looked even more dejected, if that was possible.  She groaned.  Why would no-one believe her when she used clear, simple, direct words to explain that she was not dating anyone right now, and particularly _definitely_ not dating Peter Donaldson.

The three flatmates chose a table near the bar, and Jaquie noticed that Ben had propped his chin up on his hands, elbows on the table, and was staring at her and Peter with adoration.  Freddie, by contrast, was also occasionally looking over at Jaquie, but the look on her face looked more like pained longing than adoration.  In between glances, she was staring broodingly at the table top, and picking holes in one of the coasters. 

Jaquie decided to take things into her own hands.  Telling Peter she was taking her break, she marched straight over to the table and sat down next to Freddie.

“Freddie, can I ask you something?” she demanded.

Freddie looked taken aback, startled enough to stop her brooding stare at the coaster on the table.

“Sure.”

“Would you go on a date with me?”

“A … a what?”

“A date.  With me.  To somewhere not-here with none of your bloody annoying flatmates around.”

“I, um … sure.  But?  Aren’t you and Peter …?”

“No, we’re not; we never have been.  We never will be.  Because I like _you_.”

“You like … _me_?”

“Yeah, you.”

“I just didn’t think you …”

“Well, I do.  A lot.  We’ll organise later, okay?”

At Freddie’s nod, Jaquie pressed a firm, possessive kiss to her forehead before turning to the others at the table.  Balthazar’s eyes were alight with amusement while Ben was staring at the two of them, mouth wide open and confusion on his face.

“Got it, dickface?  I like girls – one in particular – and I will never go out with Peter.”

She turned around and stalked off towards the bar where Peter had been watching and was now giggling helplessly at the look on Ben’s face.  Jaquie glanced back at the table, where Freddie was sitting next to Ben, looking dazed and uncertain about what had just happened.

“Slay them, babe,” Peter said as Jaquie took her place beside him behind the bar.

“This is all your fault!  If you hadn’t been an interfering dickhead I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking genuinely contrite.  But then his face softened into a smile.  “But, that didn’t look like a mess, Jaquie.  That looked like progress.”

“Shut up!”

Jaquie hated being pushed into things, and she’d rather have taken her time and made her own decision when she decided the time was right.  But then Jaquie looked over at Freddie and took in her look of blissful contentment as she smiled over at her.  There was a sort of fun, chaotic joy in the unexpected grand romantic gesture, too.

Freddie stood up to head towards the bar, and Jaquie grinned at her as she approached.  Perhaps, in the end, where she was right now wasn’t entirely horrible, and on reflection, this _had_ quite possibly worked out very well indeed.


	7. Meg/Jaquie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meg and Jaquie bond after the events of +confrontation+

**Meg**

_It’s Jaquie bam bam I took Meg’s camera home and then was like might as well edit together a video so enjoy all your faves (all MY faves) ((some chocolate may be necessary)) love yas - Jaquie P.S. THANKS FOR THE PASSWORD MEG WE SHOULD HANG OUT MORE_

 “So … it’s just us, then.”

“Yeah, the lovebirds have flown the coop.”  Meg grimaced, and added, “and the not-so-lovebirds have … uh … hibernated.”

Meg could feel the frown forming and turned away so Jaquie wouldn’t see it, but Jaquie must have noticed because she squeezed her arm sympathetically.

“How’s Bea?”

“She’s … she’s not good, I think.  But she’s venting at Hero on skype at the moment, so there’s nothing much I can do.”

Meg swallowed the uncharitable thought that wondered why she, who was right there with Bea, was not good enough by reminding herself that Hero was Bea’s cousin and of course she wanted family right now.

“I feel that.”  Jaquie nodded.  She stood up from the couch she was sitting on.  “My car’s at Peter’s, but you know … I don’t want to see any more of that lovey dovey crap than I already have.  Still, I should go.  Gotta rescue the car.”

Meg laughed.  “Just stay here for a bit.  I wouldn’t risk their place right now.  Bound to be full of both love and misery – nauseating on both counts.”

Jaquie nodded thoughtfully, and that’s how they’d ended up out in the pool.  The day was hot and after the various emotions that had swamped them that day, there was something uncomplicatedly blissful about being in cool water with someone you don’t know well.  There was no pressure to perform, and you could just _be_. 

Meg smiled over at Jaquie, admiring the graceful curve of her body she dived into the pool.

“That was killer,” Jaquie sputtered as she surfaced and swam over to Meg.  “So,” she added as she leaned against the side of the pool, disconcertingly close to Meg’s perch.  “They tell me you write.”

Meg found herself a little breathless at the proximity, and she had to really concentrate to be able to focus on what Jaquie was asking.

“Yeah, a bit.  I’ve taken a bit of a break since I’ve been here, but I’m still doing a few things.”

“I like it.”  Jaquie smiled at her.  “None of this ‘go to uni because you think you have to’ crap.”

“Yeah, school was kind of crap, and the only thing I really enjoyed was being allowed to write scathing reviews of movies in English.”  Meg sighed, thinking back.  “I miss Mr Merchant. He let me write whatever crap I wanted – only good teacher I ever had.”

Jaquie sniggered.  “None of my teachers were any good. And yet, here I am still learning.  How the fuck did that happen?”

“I do miss Year 13 a little.  But it’s so freeing to be working and actually getting money.  I wouldn’t give this up for all the Mr Merchants in the world.  I get to write _and_ get paid for it.”

“Stop! You’re making me jealous!” Jaquie protested.

She splashed water at Meg, who ducked out of the way, laughing.

“Sorry you can’t compete with all this glamour.”

Jaquie’s eyes narrowed as she watched Meg.  There was something new in the glance which made Meg’s heart speed up a little.  And that was ridiculous, right?  Meg was straight.  It was one of those things she just knew.  Like knowing she liked hokey pokey ice cream and couldn’t stand chocolate.  It just _was_.  So why were Jaquie’s eyes, and her bright smile, making Meg’s stomach do flips?

With a self-conscious cough, Meg pulled herself out of the pool.

“Better go see how Bea is, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Jaquie agreed quickly, “and I should go rescue my car – brave the sickening sweet stuff at Peter’s.”

They smiled at each other.  As Jaquie was leaving, she touched Meg’s arm.

“Hey, can I grab the camera?  As icky as that stuff is, I’d kind of like to get the record of it up tonight.  And I think you’ll be busy?”

Her brow raise in query, and Meg nodded, casting a look behind her towards the bedroom.  Bea had emerged and was hovering in the doorway.

“Yeah, sure babe.  Just,” she dropped her voice and indicated with her eyebrows towards Bea, “just be gentle with the rough stuff, yeah?”

Jaquie nodded, taking the camera from the table, noting down the channel’s password and slipping out the door with a smile.  Meg smiled after her before shaking off her thoughts and giving all her attention to Bea.

 

**Jaquie**

_You’ve all been waiting so patiently!! Here it is - me and Bea driving to Welly. Lucky for you guys it’s NOT the full nine hours! We had a wicked time; good jams, good company, good food, good views (if not a little grey and rainy!!). Hopefully you enjoy our compilation of highlights! And thanks to our friends in Auckland for the wonderful send off. You know what friendship’s all about._

Since that first time, Jaquie and Meg had ‘hung out’ quite a lot.  It had been, Jaquie thought, equally endearing and infuriating.  Meg was a cool chick – all glossy lipstick, direct stares and a no-nonsense attitude.  That’s what had drawn Jaquie to her in the first place.  Meg was a woman after Jaquie’s own heart, and that was damn attractive if she did say so herself.  The problem was, Jaquie admitted when she was being honest with herself, that Meg was just a flirty person.  And it honestly drove Jaquie mad that she couldn’t work out if it was purposeful flirting, or just Meg’s nature.

Watching that damn TEA video didn’t help – ‘like me deciding to be straight’ – the words hammered in her head over and over again.  Meg was straight, she’d said so … and yet.  The flirting.  The easy, sarcastic flirting.

“Babe,” Meg called, breaking into Jaquie’s thoughts right on schedule. 

She ran to Jaquie, pulling her into a hug and allowing her hands to linger a second too long on her back.

“So, everyone’s left, then?” Jaquie asked when she regained the ability to breathe after that hug.

“The ones who are going, yeah.  I can’t believe I won’t be living in the same city as Bea and Hero anymore.”  She gave a dramatic sigh, flung her hand to her brow and fell back onto Jaquie’s shoulder.  “You’ll look after me, right?  I’m in dire need of snark now Bea’s gone.”

“Tell me about it.  All my old snark buddies are in disgustingly lovey relationships now and frankly they’re too boring to be properly snarky anymore.”

Meg groaned in sympathy.  “You won’t ditch me for love, right?  I couldn’t cope if my one remaining source of snarky joy went gooey on me.”

Jaquie snorted at the idea of her being gooey over anything.  “No worries there!  Can you really see me getting my googly eyes on over some smelly partner?”

Meg looked at her appraisingly and grinned.  “Actually I can,” she said.  “I bet there’s a really soft squishy centre in there somewhere.”

Jaquie pushed her and laughed the comment off, but her heart was pounding.  How could Meg know that?  For the most part, Jaquie didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of her.  She was happy to go through life laughing at everyone else.  But there was a part of her, buried deep, that did want to be nauseatingly cute with someone.  But until now, no-one had managed to see her well enough to pick it up.

Meg had sighed and snuggled in next to Jaquie on the couch.  It was distracting, so Jaquie tried to push the conversation in another direction.

“What about you?  No plans to drop the single life for passionate romance?”

Meg’s laugh rang out again.

“Babe, seriously.  I’m having so much fun and my one relationship was a total mess.  Until I meet someone as amazing as you there’s no way I’m giving up my lifestyle.”

For a brief second, her hand ghosted over Jaquie’s making her heart stop.

“Well,” Jaquie said as frankly as she could manage, “I’m always here for you.”

“I know.”  Meg rested her head on Jaquie’s again.  “You’re good people, Jaquie Manders.”

“So are you, Meg Winter.”

Jaquie allowed herself to enjoy the moment.  She thought something might be developing between them, but now clearly wasn’t the time to push.  Meg needed to come to a realisation for herself when she was ready.  And if she was never ready, Jaquie was happy being her friend.  Meg made a wonderful friend.

“Jaquie?” Meg asked softly, an unaccustomed hesitance in her voice.

“Yeah?”

“How did you know you liked girls?”

Jaquie’s heart stopped again at the question.  Much as she wanted to believe it meant something, she didn’t want to assume.  Instead, she cleared her throat and answered.

“I’m not sure.  I just always have.  Why?”

“Oh.  No reason.”

Meg’s hand on Jaquie’s leg was definitely more than friendly now.

“You should talk to Peter – he’s got more recent experience with this.”

“Ew, no.  Can you imagine?  He’s so soppy right now he’d be useless.”

“That’s true.  But, you know, maybe it’s just something people figure out in their own time.”

“Yeah maybe,” Meg agreed with another sigh.  She reached over to link her fingers with Jaquie’s.  “I think I’m beginning to figure it out, though.”

Jaquie smiled and squeezed her hand.  “You do you, Meg.  Whatever happens, I’m sure it will be brilliant and I’ll back you all the way.”

“Thanks, Jaquie.”

One last squeeze of the hand and Meg was up.

“Come on.  We need to party.  Wellington has been denied our collective awesomeness for too long.”

Laughing, Jaquie allowed Meg to pull her to her feet.  They had time, she reflected.  This thing, whatever it was, would work itself out.  They just needed to hang out a little bit more.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not 100% sure why this ended up with so many Meg ships. But I'm not going to complain because Meg is pretty much the best ever.


End file.
